


Someone New

by Cyan (vehicroids)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: First Dates, Fluff, M/M, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 11:42:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15314757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vehicroids/pseuds/Cyan
Summary: Keith and Lance had always been something, and Keith felt like they could survive anything. Anything, except his useless crush on Shiro.





	Someone New

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cabriesun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cabriesun/gifts).



Keith and Lance had always been something beyond friends - and beyond a rivalry - ever since they had met. It only took ten years of bickering for them to realise, but it was better late than never. They ended up in the same college, and better still, the same dorm. It was almost like living together in a real apartment, though it was a tiny box of a room. If they could survive this, they could survive anything.

There was one thing Keith thought they couldn't survive from.

The problem Keith found with college was the cute boys  _ everywhere _ . Specifically, one cute boy called Shiro. His feelings did not make him love Lance any less, but it made him worry. What if Lance saw it that way? What if it  _ did _ mean he loved Lance any less? Keith didn't want to think about it. Every time he saw Shiro, he was painfully reminded of the conflict he felt. It was a strange mix of happiness and dread, neither of which he could shake off. He felt absolutely guilty, and he knew he needed to tell Lance, but it was hard to find the words.

Keith's crush on Shiro made him clingier towards Lance, trying to prove to him that his feelings hadn't changed. This only made Lance confused, and maybe a little uncomfortable. How else was Keith supposed to prove his love? He couldn't get rid of his feelings for Shiro, so this was the next best thing.

“Okay,” Lance huffed, trying to wiggle out of yet another too-long cuddle session. “Ow. I like breathing sometimes, you know. What's with you lately?”

“Nothing! Can't I show you I love you without it being weird?”

He raised an eyebrow. “And this has nothing to do with your obvious crush on Shiro?”

Keith felt the blood drain from his being. How did Lance know? Keith was casual and normal about his feelings, he made sure of that. If Lance knew, Shiro knew. Keith rolled over, ashamed. He faced the wall, wishing the bed would swallow him whole. Lance laughed, rolling over to spoon him.

“Crushes happen, sweet thing.” Lance kissed the back of his head.

“But I don't want one,” Keith said, frowning.

“Yeah, and I don't want tests, but we can't always have what we want.”

Keith sighed, leaning into Lance's affection. He wasn't mad, and he wasn't breaking up with Keith. At least there was that. He relaxed, closing his eyes. Maybe they could survive from this, without making things weird between the three of them.

“You could always ask him out,” Lance said.

Keith turned his head to look at him. “What?”

“Well, you'd need help, obviously. You're a little useless. But you should still ask him out.”

Lance still hadn't let go of that time when they were 4 years old. Keith didn't know how to handle a crush - much less on a boy - and Lance wanted to be his friend. In a panic, Keith grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it at Lance. He immediately regretted it, but it didn't change the fact that it happened. It also didn't stop Lance from telling everyone.

“I'm not that useless,” Keith mumbled.

“Sure, sure,” Lance said. “Anyway, I could feed you lines while you ask him out. It'll be perfect!”

Lance sounded so proud of himself. It almost didn't feel fair to remind him of reality.

“Yeah, except until you remember the part where I have a boyfriend,” Keith said.

“And you're forgetting the part where your boyfriend is fine with it.”

He pulled away, rolling over to face Lance with a frown. Lance had a big smile on his face, like he had uncovered the secrets of the universe.

“What.”

“Dude, go kiss the boy! It's fine, seriously. I know you still love me. Just as long as you let me help you,” Lance said.

Keith would never understand Lance, especially not when he produced silly ideas like this. Just because it was tempting, that did not make it a good idea. Somehow, Lance had a way of making even the worst ideas sound okay. Keith sighed, realising he wasn't going to win this one.

“Fine. Let's do this.”

Keith had a wireless headphone in his ear, covered strategically by his hair. Lance would be on the phone to him, after making sure that the microphone on the headphone would catch Shiro's voice. Keith was dreading this - he should have called it off, but Lance would never let him live it down. He was just going to have to suck it up.

Lance was hiding in the bushes, flashing Keith a thumbs-up. Keith's stomach was in more knots than a balloon animal. He saw Shiro, and he lost his nerve. Oh no, not now. He could do this, he knew he could. He wasn't alone, not when he had Lance as back up.

“Hey Keith,” Shiro smiled.

Keith smiled back up at him. “Morning, Shiro.”

“Say he looks nice,” Lance whispered in his ear.

“Uh-- you look nice,” Keith said. “Not that you don't always look good.”

Shiro laughed, and Keith laughed with him, but far more nervously. He scratched his arm, looking away.

“Ask him if he's into dudes,” Lance said.

“No!”

“No what?” Shiro asked, tilting his head.

“No-- no way,” Keith gulped, looking at Shiro's pin on his bag, “you're into Overwatch.”

Lance laughed in his ear, and Shiro still looked confused. Keith was just lucky he had some kind of opening, otherwise he would have to explain everything 

“Yeah. Do you play?”

No. Keith barely knew who the characters were, which was something Lance poked fun of him for. He could tell the truth and say that no, but his boyfriend played. Something compelled him to lie, which he wasn't proud of.

“Oh yeah, I play,” Keith said.

“No you don't! The last time you played, you ran right off the map and didn't wanna play anymore,” Lance said.

Lance really wasn't doing much for his confidence. Keith wanted to die, but Shiro laughed softly. He could see through Keith, couldn't he?

“Okay, now you should-- what?” Keith heard rustling in his ear, and a woman yelling. “No ma'am, I'm not peeping, I'm trying to-- help! I'm not a peeping Tom!”

Keith looked over at Lance, who was being dragged out of the bush kicking and screaming. Keith groaned, looking back at Shiro. There was no point in pretending now, not when Shiro was looking at Lance, too. He raised his eyebrows at Keith.

“Something tells me you had a little help trying to talk to me,” he said.

Keith didn't want to admit it, but as he was given no other choice… “Yeah. He wanted me to talk to you, because I'm apparently useless with romance.”

Shiro laughed again. “Do you even play Overwatch?”

When Keith looked away, that was answer enough for Shiro. Why did Lance have to be caught? This made things so much more difficult than it needed to be. Wait, no, why did Keith rely on him in the first place? Now he had made a mess, and he couldn't blame anyone but himself.

“Is there something you wanted to say, Keith?” Shiro asked.

Something told Keith that Shiro already knew.

“I… I did, yeah. I wanted to ask if you were free this Saturday.”

“As a date?”

Shiro was loving this a little too much for Keith's liking. Keith turned pink, and his voice dropped to a mumble.

“Yeah. Like a date.”

Shiro beamed at him. “Sounds great.” He pulled out a piece of paper from his bag, scrawled his number on it, and handed it over to Keith. “Text me the details.”

Keith held the paper, watching Shiro walk away. He looked down at the number, and it didn't look fake. Holy shit, he had Shiro's number. For now  though, he needed to go help Lance out before he got expelled.

\--

On the evening of the date, Keith flopped face down on his bed, burying his face in the pillows. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t go out on a date with Shiro - not morally, and definitely not in any other way. Keith was a dork, a weenie, a mess. Shiro was cool, suave, attractive. Keith groaned into the pillow while Lance patted the space between his shoulder blades gently.

“Don’t look so scared, fake some confidence, and it’s gonna be okay,” Lance said.

“I hate this, and you, for making me do this,” Keith grumbled, taking his face out of the pillow.

“If he didn’t like you, he would’ve said no. C’mon, get up and get dressed or you’ll be late.”

Keith rolled over, getting up. Fine, he would do this, if only to prove Lance wrong. He pulled clothes out of his closet, only to be immediately told  _ no _ . What was wrong with his outfit? Keith huffed, pulling out more and more clothes until Lance approved. Lance made this more stressful than it needed to be.

His phone pinged with a text from Shiro, saying he was outside. Keith grimaced, pulling on his jacket, before running out of his dorm. He ran back in to kiss Lance’s cheek, then ran straight back out. His priorities were in order, as ever. The moment he laid eyes on Shiro, both of their faces lit up. Keith felt his face burn, hiding behind his hair. Shiro laughed softly, leading the way to his car.

What was he even doing? This was the last time he would ever listen to Lance. Shiro was making idle small talk while Keith stared out the window. Come on, don’t be awkward, say something.

“So, you’re single?” Keith said. Not  _ that  _ stupid. He tried not to groan and sink into the seat.

“I should think so,” Shiro laughed.

“I’m asking because--” Because Keith was a fool. “--because I’m not. But Lance said it’s okay, and I know I should've said something sooner, so if you wanna call it off…”

This was a terrible idea. Worst idea Lance ever had. Shiro looked over at Keith, who was trying to melt away into the car.

“I knew that before you even asked me out. It was either that or you two had a strange friendship.”

Keith sighed in relief. Okay, he hadn’t made things completely weird and awkward, like he was prone to doing. He sat up again, still wanting to die a little. Thankfully, they pulled up to the restaurant before Keith could say anything else.

Keith was quiet for the entire date. He didn’t mean to be, but he felt like he couldn’t speak without saying something stupid. It was eager this way. Shiro kept looking over at him, concerned, and Keith looked away, embarrassed. They were friends before this, it shouldn’t have been so uncomfortable. Keith was naturally quiet, and Shiro would know that by now. If not, then he clearly had not been paying attention.

“Are you okay?” Shiro asked after Keith had poked the same piece of chicken for a fifth time.

“Nervous,” he mumbled. “Really nervous.”

Shiro smiled at him, trying to ease his nerves. “Just relax, it’s only me.”

That was exactly why Keith couldn’t relax - it was  _ Shiro _ . Keith nodded, but with the lump in his throat, he knew he couldn’t eat any more. He tried to take a couple more bites of his dinner, but if he forced any more down, he would be sick. Maybe he could ask for a doggy bag, though he knew Lance would eat it the moment his back was turned. At least it wouldn't go to waste.

If Shiro noticed Keith was still shitting himself, he didn’t say anything. He didn’t suggest dessert, but he didn’t ask for the bill straight away either. Keith’s plate was replaced by a little box with most of his dinner inside. He took small sips of his drink, trying to settle the storm in his stomach.

“Do I really make you this nervous?” Shiro laughed softly.

Keith choked. There was no way he had made it this obvious. It wasn’t his fault he was tongue tied whenever Shiro spoke, and it wasn’t his fault Keith was utterly useless with romance. Yet still, he was embarrassed. He hid behind his hair.

“I’m not nervous,” Keith said.

Time to use some of the charm Lance had taught him. He leaned a little closer, and his heart was thudding in his chest hard enough to hurt. Oh God, he might puke. Please don’t puke on Shiro - that would’ve been a terrible way to end their date.

“It’s just--” Keith swallowed, but the lump in his throat remained. “It’s not often a hot guy like you goes out with someone like me.”

That didn’t sound smooth, just pathetic. Shiro stared at him blankly, and Keith wanted to die all over again. One day, he would learn not to listen to Lance in a pinch, but that day was apparently not today. Please let the waiter come over to impose the bill on Shiro, please save Keith from this awful situation. He stayed strong, his eyes still on Shiro.

Shiro had a little smirk on his lips as he leaned in a little closer, too. He rested his chin on his fingers, elbows on the table. Their faces were close - too close for comfort. Backing down now was not an option.

“Why wouldn’t I want to go out a date with someone as gorgeous as you?” Shiro asked with a hum.

Oh God. Keith was no longer breathing. His palms were clammy, he was fairly sure he was having a heart attack, and his stomach had shrivelled up like a leaf in October. But he still wasn't going to stop, despite the nerves wracking his being.

“You're, uh…” Come on, Keith, say something flirty. “Good.” Or he could keep being stupid. “I mean, great. You have a great personality, and I love your laugh, and you're hot, and--"

“Okay,” Shiro smiled, “I think I broke you.”

Keith wanted to plant his face into the table. Why was he like this? Shiro wasn't poking fun, but he was finding this funnier than he should have. Ti Keith, this was torture.

“Come on, I'll take you home and we can try something less formal sometime,” Shiro said.

At least Keith wasn't completely rejected. He was still disappointed in himself for being so useless. Shiro was kind enough to take him home, but with Keith being Keith, it did not end in a kiss. It ended in a mumbled thank you, and him running back inside from embarrassment.

He got back inside his dorm, dropping down face first into his pillow. Lance looked over at him, before getting up and sitting beside him. He ran his hand through Keith's hair gently.

“How badly did you screw up?” Lance asked?

“What makes you think I screwed up?” Keith looked up at Lance, who gave him a  _ look _ . “Fine. I short circuited on him, panicked, and called him  _ good _ .”

Lance laughed. “I love you so much. You might as well have thrown in a  _ satisfactory _ into the mix.”

Lance wasn't as helpful as he thought he was. Keith wanted to mourn the loss of half of his love life inside his pillow, but his phone buzzed in his pocket. Hopefully, it would have been an email telling him he didn't have to go to class. With a resigned sigh, he checked his phone. It was a text from Shiro.

‘ _ Do you want to try having another first date? I feel like we got off on the wrong foot _ ’

Keith smiled at his phone. He wasn't completely useless after all.

\--

It was a warm day, hot enough to warrant ice cream, Keith and Shiro thought. It was casual enough for Keith to be calm, and for him to not be weird. Shiro seemed glad that Keith was no longer hiding his shell. Keith was glad about that, too. As they stood at the ice cream stall, Keith couldn't help but feel like he had forgotten something. That feeling soon disappeared when he had his ice cream - mint chocolate chip was always the best.

They sat out in the park, on a bench in the shade. Keith knew he would burn in the sun - being pale was a curse. With ice cream, he didn't feel like he needed to talk. Keith could just enjoy Shiro's company, watching people and dogs walking around.

Shiro pointed over to a particularly long-haired dog. “I'd hate to have a coat like that in this heat,” he said.

Keith grimaced. “Don't, I'm burning just thinking about it.”

They laughed. Was it too hot for dogs? Keith didn't know, but he knew he was overheating in a shirt and jeans. Jeans were such a poor choice. He glanced over at Shiro, who wore a tank top and shorts. Man, he was really showing off his figure in that outfit. What Keith would do to--

“Your ice cream is melting,” Shiro said.

Keith looked at his hand, which was now coated in a mess of green ice cream. He frowned, trying to lick away the melted ice cream. His stomach gurgled, but he dismissed it as nerves. Keith wasn't nearly as nervous this time as he was on the last date, yet his stomach still felt awful. He shrugged it off, finishing off his ice cream and wiping his hand on his jeans.

His stomach only got worse, and that was when he remembered. He clutched his stomach, standing up and looking around.

“I need a bathroom, like… like five minutes ago,” Keith hissed.

“There's one just down there, but you need to pay for it,” Shiro said. “What's wrong?”

“Ice cream. I can't, I shouldn't--"

He shouldn't have had that ice cream, knowing he was lactose intolerant. But Keith was stupid, especially in the face of a hot guy. He jumped over the bench, running off to the bathroom. He slotted in the money he needed, before slipping into the little stall. God bless public toilets, even if they were absolutely disgusting.

He felt awful, both physically and mentally. With a resigned sigh, Keith pulled his phone out of his pocket. Might as well try to explain the situation to Shiro.

‘ _ sorry about that :( i ruined both dates because i'm a loser dork _ ’

He would never emerge from this bathroom again, partly because he couldn't, but mostly because he couldn't face Shiro. Keith was absolutely useless, and Lance was right. Keith continued to be bad at romance. His phone buzzed.

‘ _ I like you, even if you're a loser dork _ ’

Keith smiled at his phone. He was lucky; no matter what he did, he didn't seem to be able to scare Shiro off.

‘ _ i like you too. maybe you could just come over some time and just hang out instead of just being a date? _ ’

‘ _ I'd like that _ ’

Maybe this time, it wouldn't have been awkward and awful. But this was Keith - it would be awkward, awful and more.Keith felt like a stiff wind would have knocked him over.

**Author's Note:**

> PHEW OKAY! This was a lot of fun to write ; o; I seem to like writing dorky loser baby Keith a lot. Oops um... yeah :'D ;; This was written for [Brie](http://sheith-keef.tumblr.com) for the [Shklance summer exchange](http://shancesupportsquad.tumblr.com)!
> 
> Check me out on [Tumblr](http://vehicroids.tumblr.com)!


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